


He Doesn't Speak

by CobraOnTheCob



Series: Zutara Week 2019 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ask for my DeviantArt, Dragon AU, Dragons, Gen, I pingponged between using the actual lines and making my own, Katara at the beginning hates Zuko, Katara is CONFLICTED about how she feels about Zuko being the sweet bumbling dork he is, No Appa, So it pingpongs between actually being canon and not, They can fly no need for flying bison, They're Dragons, Zutara Week 2019, but then she's conflicted, hehe, slight rewrite, that's where they are, the southern raiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 13:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20136535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraOnTheCob/pseuds/CobraOnTheCob
Summary: Justice for Kya has come in the shape of a royal Fire Dragon, not the Avatar.





	He Doesn't Speak

**Author's Note:**

> This is AU is every character is a dragon now. So, there's no bending in this, but there are mindreaders. Only females can be mindreaders, and under certain conditions. Basically, any female bender in A:TLA are now mindreaders in this fic.
> 
> I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I am not using this for profit. I used the lines from the original since I figured it was a semi-rewrite and some lines made sense in staying.
> 
> Zutara Week 2019 Prompt: Speak, or in this fic alternatively, no speaking from Zuko's part

Katara emerged from her tent to be greeted with the sight of one Zuko of the Fire Nation, swaying when he got up as soon as his ears perked up at the sound of her stepping outside. His golden eyes were hooded with tiredness, his brain sluggish.

"You look and sound terrible," Katara snapped, stalking over to a nice warm rock and began to groom herself. 

"I waited here all night," Zuko mumbled in response. 

"What do you want?" Katara snapped, annoyed that he was watching her groom herself. His brain was so sluggish, it barely formed a response. She ignored it. Listening to Zuko's mind sleepily work would only drag her back into s l e e p...

"I know who killed your mother," came the abrupt reply. Katara's back and spines stiffened, her fur puffing up for a moment, "and I'm going to help you find him."

"Oh really?" Katara asked, forcing herself to flatten her fur and spines.

"Yes," Zuko said, his thoughts sincere. 

"Get some rest, we'll be leaving this afternoon," Katara growled.

<>-<>-<>-<>

"Where are you two going?" Aang demanded. Katara glared at him for a moment. Zuko stood frozen, his talons covered in dark paint, almost done covering his royal markings. Katara would've laughed at Zuko covered in dark splotches had it not been for Aang's interruption.

"I know where to find my mother's killer," Katara growled. Aang blinked, baffled by her aggressive brush-off.

"It's your turn with Zuko's field trip, right?" Aang asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes, it is," Katara said, turning back to Zuko, who finished painting himself to look less like a shiny member of the royal Fire family and more patterned like a normal dragon should be - designed to blend in with one's environment. Zuko now looked like an underfed Earth Dragon with random splotches of shiny scales that he couldn't paint. 

"So this is what you did with the story I told you?!" Sokka shrieked, bounding up to Zuko. Suki and Toph trailed behind Sokka, eyes wide as they watched Sokka get into Zuko's face. Zuko wasn't fazed by Sokka's aggressive display, his spines unconsciously raising to make him the bigger dragon, even though Sokka's head spines barely reached his jaw. 

"Yes," Zuko said. Sokka deflated slightly.

"Keep her safe. If I smell one whiff of burnt fur, I'll shred you and personally send your pieces back to your uncle." Sokka hissed at Zuko. Zuko nodded, his spikes relaxing. Sokka's spikes and fur were still puffed up, but Katara noticed that he deflated slightly.

"What do you think this'll accomplish?" Aang asked, butting back into the conversation. Katara growled.

"I knew you wouldn't understand," Katara said. Sokka's mind radiated hostility and protection, Suki and Toph watched with neutrality, and Aang...Aang was filled with disbelief. Katara turned, nodding to Zuko to get ready to take off.

"Wait! Stop! I do understand!" Aang said, jumping in front of Katara as she poised to take off. Katara glared at him.

"Do you?" Katara asked. Aang held her glare.

"You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out about what happened at the Southern Air Temple?" Aang asked. Katara closed her eyes, blocking out Aang's mind as it bristled with questions and thoughts.

"But did you see their bloody bodies?" Katara spat, "Dad and I came back to her, her throat torn open, her wing almost ripped off. You only saw their skeletons." Aang took a step back, hurt.

"Zuko?" Aang squeaked. Zuko snorted, his tail flicked as his mind sparked with anger.

"She needs this, Aang. Katara needs closure and justice." Zuko said, as calmly as he could.

"That sounds like revenge!" Aang exploded. Katara snarled.

"Fine! Maybe that's what my mother's _MURDERER_ deserves!" Katara snarled. __

_ __ _

_ __ _

"You sound like Jet!" Aang shrieked back. Katara stared in shock. 

"It's not the same!" Sokka roared, stepping in between Katara and Aang, fearing that Katara would lash out at Aang, "Jet didn't care about the innocent. Our mother's murderer is not innocent, he has her blood and the blood of so many of our warriors on his and his soldiers' claws!"

"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed cobra. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself," Aang responded quietly. Katara and Sokka stared at Aang, baffled. Before any of them could respond, Zuko cut in.

"Aang, what might work as advice to you isn't going to work for Katara," Zuko said. Aang blinked.

"Aang, I know that he's out there, and it's a scent that I have to follow. I have no choice." Katara said, her voice strong, her eyes hard. Aang's thoughts scrambled, unable to process the situation. 

"You do have a choice!" Aang sputtered out, "Forgiveness!"

"You want her to do nothing?!" Zuko hissed, his wings flaring. Aang shrank back for a moment. 

"It's not just hard, it's impossible," Katara spat, "We have to go. We're wasting daylight." Katara snarled.

"You can go, I forgive you! That give you any ideas?" Aang said. Katara hissed, Aang was getting on her nerves. The entire group tensed, Katara's tail lashed as Katara turned to Aang.

"Don't. Try. To. Stop. Us." Katara hissed. She moved to turn again, but Aang's brain once again formed a response.

"I wasn't planning on it. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man. But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him." Aang pleaded one last time, Katara's mind bombarded with images of her from Aang's view. Katara, the Ice Dragon with little to no control of her mind-reading, with wide eyes as she regarded him with kindness. The dragon that always helped, the dragon that would never hurt someone. Katara snorted, blocking out Aang's mind. 

_You're a tiny wave in comparison to everyone else, you don't matter to me. _ Katara thought spitefully, mentally rolling Aang's thoughts into a wave before shoving it into the ocean of her mind. __

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Okay, we'll be sure to do that, dragonet," Zuko hissed. Aang blanched, Zuko glared at him for a moment before turning to Katara. Katara's ear twitched, then they both turned and took off. Even as she flew away, she heard the other three turn on Aang, Sokka snarling at Aang, Toph and Suki backing him up.

<>-<>-<>-<>

"We wasted too much daylight," Zuko growled. They had about six hours of flying, and Zuko could see that the only land in sight was a small island two _li_ away from them and about 64 _li_ from the northernmost coast of the Fire Nation. ____

_ _ __ _ _

_ _ __ _ _

"I can keep going," Katara hissed. Zuko doubted it. Katara showed signs of flagging - losing altitude by a few _cun_, drooping eyelids, and having a more snappy behavior, more than usual, at least.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Getting into the communication tower requires stealth, and being stealthy means being - "

"I get it! Let's rest, then. Mom hasn't had justice in years, a few more days won't hurt." Katara snarled, landing almost clumsily on the beach. Zuko reached out to help her, but stopped as she glared at him. Neither one said a thing as they found some rock outcroppings jutting out perfectly - enough to keep them hidden on the island. Katara settled down, her back turned to him. Zuko gave her the same respect, his back to hers, he settled down and coiled himself neatly, his tail fins brushing his snout, one wing covering his body.

<>-<>-<>-<>

Katara woke up to Zuko separating fish into two separate piles, one placed closer to her, and another to him.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, her fur raised slightly. Zuko raised a brow at her.

"Exactly what it looked like. Caught some fish. Enjoy." Zuko responded, picking up a small fish from the pile and proceeded to claw off the meat from its bones. Katara picked up the first fish - a nice fat flying fish. In fact, every fish was large, unlike Zuko's fish, which were small and skinny in comparison. 

"Hey. Don't starve yourself." Katara said, throwing a flying fish towards Zuko. The fish smacked him in the snout and he shrieked. Katara held down giggles, sternly reminding herself that this is her enemy.

"You're the one who needs more strength. This is your mission, after all." Zuko replied, throwing the fish back at her. Katara snorted.

"Fine. Starve if I care." Katara growled. Zuko shrugged, and returned to pulling off the meat from the bones. Katara picked up her fish, and ate it, bones and all. Zuko stared.

"Color me impressed," Zuko said, staring at her. Katara shrugged.

"When you grow up in a land where food can be scarce for moons on end, you develop a habit to eat fish bones," Katara stated. Zuko returned to his meal. "Scared Aang when Sokka and I first ate in front of him."

"Oh?" 

"You know, because he eats plants or whatever. How does that even work?" Katara wondered outloud. 

"Beats me," Zuko responded. 

_How am I supposed to hate Zuko if he's so easy to talk to?___

_ __ _

_ __ _

<>-<>-<>-<>

They arrived at the tower by nightfall. Zuko flew above Katara, keeping her relatively hidden by any watchful eyes from above. Finding the main communication room, Katara pressed her head against the wall, reaching into the minds of those in the room. Hesitantly, Katara extended her mental link to Zuko, figuring that he would understand the code the messages were written in.

_The Southern Raiders, patrolling Whaletail Island, _ Zuko responded.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

_Let's go.___

_ __ _

_ __ _

<>-<>-<>-<>

"You'll need to be well rested if you're going to pull this off," Zuko warned, watching as Katara dropped a few _cun_ before recovering. Katara hissed in annoyance.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

"I have plenty of strength. I'm not the helpless little dragonet I was when they came." Katara growled. She closed her eyes momentarily to keep the memories down. Zuko grunted in pain as the memory hit him. 

_ Zuko was standing in the Southern Water Tribe - but not in any location he recognized. He realized that this was before the tribes were reduced to hide tents - before he arrived. A small spotted Ice Dragon dashed by him, her fur soft with dragonet down, giggling as a slightly larger Ice Dragonet chased off her, shrieking that he'll get her. Suddenly, both dragonets stopped and looked up, and Zuko realized something was falling from the sky - ash. For a moment, the sun was briefly blotted out, before Fire Dragons came hurtling down, one aiming for the two dragonets. An Ice Dragon leaped up, and slammed into the Fire Dragon angling towards the dragonets. Both dragonets fled, the female beginning to split away from the male._

__

__

_"I'm going to get Mom!" the female dragonet shrieked, and Zuko recognized that this was younger Katara, he heard the authority in her voice as the other dragonet (Sokka, he realized, how did he not recognize the wolf-like pattern?) nodded and dashed off to round up the other dragonets. Roars and shrieks as Ice Dragons sprang at Fire Dragons, talons tearing, teeth snapping. Zuko was tugged forward by an invisible line, he realized that Katara's memory was pulling him along. He saw mothers pushing and grabbing their dragonets, shoving them into tents before they formed a line in front of them, fur and spikes raised, ready to kill anyone who dared to endanger their dragonets. Younger Katara didn't notice as they called for her to get into the safety of the nests, she sprinted towards her family's igloo._

_"Mom!" Katara shrieked, bursting in through the entryway. Two dragons snarled, circling each other, a massive Fire Dragon and a female Ice Dragon, both dripping blood, Zuko realized as his eyes adjusted to the dark. The Fire Dragon lunged for Katara, pinning her throat under his talons, ready to kill her._

_ __ _

_ __ _

_"Tell me where the mind-reader is, and I'll let her go," the Fire Dragon snarled. Zuko stared in horror. Katara, a dragonet who had just grown into her wings, was on the verge of being killed. The Ice Dragon hesitated, before her eyes hardened._

_"Just let her go and I'll give the information you want," the Ice Dragon gave in. The Fire Dragon smirked, his talons sheathed as he prodded Katara to get up._

_"You heard your mother, get out of here!" Katara stared, wide-eyed._

_"Mommy, I'm scared," she whimpered. The Ice Dragon stared at her encouragingly._

_"Go find your dad, sweetie," the Ice Dragon said gently, before snarling at the intruder, "I'll take care of this."_

__

__

__

__

"I ran as fast I could," present Katara broke in. Zuko was surprised, she wasn't angry that he was in her memory. He and Katara glided alongside younger Katara as she ran to the heart of the battlefield.

_"Dad, Dad!" Katara shrieked, not caring that she was in a midst of a battle. Zuko watched as an Ice Dragon, broad-shouldered and more square snouted than the typical Ice Dragon, grappled with two Fire Dragons that easily towered over him. The Ice Dragon's ears pricked up, before he roared, slamming his talons into one of them before whirling and whipping the other's jaw with his tail, both Fire Dragons collapsing with shrieks of pain._

__

__

_"Katara! Why aren't you - "_

_"I think Mom's in trouble! There's a Fire Dragon - "_

_"Kya!" he shrieked, and took off, Katara following as fast as she could on her shorter legs.___

__

__

__

__

"But we were too late. When we got there, the Fire Dragon was gone, and so was my mom." Katara said.

_Both Ice Dragons arrived to their igloo, the entrance destroyed. Cautiously, Katara's father crept in, and Katara followed. Zuko gasped at the sight of blood, fur, and scales everywhere, and then flattened his ears when he heard a roar of grief. Kya's body lay there, curled up, blood still oozing from the death blow._

__

__

_"Get up!" younger Katara shrieked, unable to accept the wounds as killer blows. She nudged the back of Kya's neck, her eyes wide with pleading. Katara's father reared up and let out a keening noise, and the memory faded.___

__

__

__

__

Zuko stared at Katara, who looked away. 

"I let you see that last part in case there was anything you could identify," Katara said quietly. Zuko's mind was still reeling.

"Katara, I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell anything, not with all the blood - "

"It's alright. I didn't really expect you to know, given that you probably haven't left the Fire Nation at that point." Katara said, looking away. Zuko opened his mouth to comfort her when he saw in the distance, the Southern Raiders ship.

"It's them. Are you ready?" Zuko asked. Katara growled, then dove for the ocean. Zuko nodded, and took to the clouds. Flattening his spikes to make himself more aerodynamic, he felt himself flying slightly faster. As he approached, he charged up, as quietly as he can. The dragon on watch looked the other way and was barely paying attention to the sky. Zuko folded his wings and aimed for the net launcher. He fired his shot, aware that he at least crippled it enough so that it couldn't operate. As his wings opened to fly up, he heard the watch dragon let out an alarm call, a door burst open as numerous guards took to the air.

_That's right, follow me._ Zuko thought. He heard several dragons charging up, and heard their blasts being fired. He managed to drop a few _cun below the blasts just in time, before whirling around and striking one dragon in the face. The soldier shrieked, Zuko's claws had came dangerously close to his eye, and when his comrade turned to him, Zuko flew off into the clouds, where he could have the advantage. On the boat, he watched Katara launch herself out of the ocean, attacking any dragon on deck with swift, fierce attacks. Zuko circled and dove, confusing and throwing the soldiers who followed him off-guard. If Aang could fight like this and beat numerous opponents like this, then so could Zuko, but a bit slower. His opponents lost altitude, and within minutes, became too injured to fly. They fell into the ocean, their energy being used to swim towards the ship. Zuko didn't care about them, and landed on the deck as Katara took out the last soldier. Nodding, they dashed into the corridor, and stopped as two armored guards snarled at them. Katara leaped out from behind Zuko and easily knocked them both out. ___

_ _ __ _ _

_ _ __ _ _

"This is it, Katara. Are you ready?" Zuko asked. Katara snarled in response. As Zuko was prepping a fire blast, Katara opened the door, bursting in before rolling away as a blast hit where she was. Zuko leaped in behind her, firing his at the same time another guard shot at him. Katara rammed into the guard that shot first, catching the larger dragon off-guard, grabbed his head, and rammed it into a wall. Zuko slammed the other guard's head with his tail, knocking the guard into a wall, dazing him. Zuko turned his attention to the commander, who was in the back charging up, Zuko began to charge his shot as well when Zuko saw the commander freeze up, the charge dying. Confused, Zuko also killed his blast, as he watched in horror as the commander sat up, his orange eyes wide with panic as his claws unsheathed and reached for his stomach. Zuko stared as the commander's orange eyes shimmered a slight silvery-blue, and he turned to Katara, whose eyes stared straight at the commander, concentrating on something. 

"Who are you?" the commander whimpered. Zuko growled in annoyance.

"You don't remember her? You will soon!" Zuko snarled, stepping closer. 

"What's - stop that, claws! What's happening to me?!" the commander cried, trying to stop his claws from beginning to dig into his belly.

"Think back. Think back to your last raid on the Southern Water Tribe." Zuko spat, his face coming close to the commander's. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please, I don't know!" he whimpered, and his claws sunk into his stomach. 

"Don't lie! You look her in the eye - "

"It's not him," Katara said suddenly. Zuko's head snapped towards her, her blue eyes wide. He heard the commander sigh in relief as he removed his claws from his stomach, but Katara still wouldn't let him go. 

"What? What do you mean he's not?!" Zuko snarled. Katara glared at him.

"He has only seen the Southern Water Tribe from a distance, the last battle happened before he joined the Southern Raiders," Katara said quietly, then turned and walked away, relinquishing her telepathic hold on the commander. The commander dropped to all fours, sighing as he finally had his mind back. Zuko bodyslammed the commander before pouncing on top of him, his claws pressed to the soft pale-orange throat scales.

"If you're not the dragon who killed her mother, then who is it?" Zuko spat. The commander's eyes widened in terror as Zuko applied more pressure.

"You must be looking for Yon Rha - he's the one who killed the last Southern Water Tribe's mind reader. He was honorably discharged shortly after that because his wing was torn." the commander gulped out. 

"Anything else?" Zuko asked, snarling. 

"He lives on the southern part of Hai Island," the commander gasped out. Zuko released his hold on the commander and turned to Katara, whose back was still turned to them, but she had clearly been listening.

"Thank you, Aito," Katara said, her voice calm. She stalked away, leaving both Fire Dragons terrified. Zuko turned and followed her.

<>-<>-<>-<>

Yon Rha didn't want to go to the market. For starters, it was at the top of the hill, and was a long walk for him. He couldn't really hunt for his aging, cranky mother, on account of his shredded wing, and his mother rejected all forms of help except for him, even having the guts to chase out his mate and dragonets while he was gone. Sure, he was a war hero and could ask some nice passerby or a Night Ember to do it for him, but his mother was very specific on what to get and told him that if she caught anyone else's scent on the meat, she'd shred his other wing. So, with no other option, he walked up the path his home village made for him when he returned, his old limbs complaining despite him making this walk several times before. As he entered the market, he could've sworn he saw a dark blur out of the color of his eye, but when he looked, there was nothing but bright colored Fire Dragons scrambling to grab last-minute groceries, the vendors ready to close shop and drive up prices. Grabbing the choice meat, he slid his payment towards the butcher. He thought he saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you see anything blue?" Yon Rha asked. The butcher shrugged.

"Only that feather you wear on your head," the butcher replied. Yon Rha turned and headed back home, shrugging as well. 

_Must be my imagination,_ Yon Rha thought as he finally reached flat land. It rained when he was still halfway down the hill, turning him miserable. How he survived as the commander of the Southern Raiders, he had no idea. Momentarily, Yon Rha thought he was his forefoot covered in blood and instead of mud there was snow - bright, bloody snow - but as he shook his head, his vision cleared and things went back to its muddy, gloomy state. Growling, he continued along, before suddenly tripping. Hissing in annoyance, he reached to pick up the meat when he heard the squelch of someone stepping in mud behind him. He turned, and wished he hadn't. An Ice Dragon stood, her fur and spikes raised, her teeth bared, while a dark colored dragon stood by her side.__

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Don't even try using your fire blast, he's charging up as I speak," she hissed, her eyes flicking between his eyes and the blue feather he wore on the first spike of his head.

"Whoever you are, take my money. Take whatever you want. I'll cooperate." Yon Rha whimpered, crouching down, his ears flattened. 

"Do you know who I am?" the Ice Dragon asked, her blue eyes burning with rage.

"No, I'm not sure," Yon Rha said. She barked out a laugh.

"Oh, you better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look?!" Yon Rha stared, and noticed her spotted pattern. He backed up in terror.

"Yes, yes, I remember you now. You're that little dragonet - " he began to say, but groaned as a memory hit him.

_Yon Rha pinned the spotted dragonet by her throat, the low light making it difficult to see any other detail. His head pounded slightly, he must still be hungover. _

__

__

_"Just let her go and I'll give you the information you want," the older Ice Dragon pleaded. Yon Rha released the dragonet._

_"You heard your mother, get out of here!" Yon Rha roared. The dragonet whimpered._

_"Mommy, I'm scared," the dragonet whimpered, her face angled towards Yon Rha before swiveling to her mother._

_"Go to your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this." her mother said. The dragonet left, and Yon Rha turned to her._

_"Now tell me, who is it? Who is the mind reader?" Yon Rha hissed. The Ice Dragon lowered her head._

_"There are no mind readers here. The Fire Nation took them all." she growled. _

_"You're lying. The letter we intercepted said that there was an untrained mind reader! We're not leaving until we find her!" Yon Rha allowed for silence to fill the igloo, allowing her to hear the battle. Shrieks of warriors and soldiers as they ripped each other open and lay on the snow, dying._

_"If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?"_

_"I only want her and no one else," Yon Rha growled._

_"It's me. Take me as your prisoner." the Ice Dragon said, her head bowed._

_"I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today," Yon Rha hissed, then lunged, his claws ready to shred. The Ice Dragon moved, and screeched as his claws shredded into her already injured shoulder, nearly tearing off her wing. She roared, and turned to his unguarded left wing and ripped into the membrane, her serrated claws making quick work of it. Yon Rha sank down in pain as she stood over him._

_"Then you'll die here, and so will your soldiers," she hissed. Yon Rha pushed himself up, his wings flared open as he fought the pain and took her by surprise. His claws tore through her throat, her eyes glaring as she crumpled in pain, curling up as if to stop the blood from flowing out of her throat. He reached out and pulled a feather from her wing and sprinted out the entrance and burst through it, letting out a roar as he soared away, the feather in his talons._

__

__

__

__

Yon Rha snapped out of the memory, the Ice Dragon in front of him staring him down.

"She lied to you," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the feather, "She was protecting the last mind reader."

"Who?" Yon Rha asked. Her blue eyes blazed with fury.

"ME!" she roared, leaping at him and pinning him down, her talons the same way his talons were all those years ago, when he held her down. Her face changed slightly, Yon Rha saw the markings under her eyes, the telltale sign of a mindreader.

"How?" he gasped.

"Made you not be able to see my markings. How does it feel to fail, to be at the mercy of the Southern Water Tribe's last mind reader?" she growled, her claws beginning to sink into his throat. 

"Hrrrk," Yon Rha groaned out as she pressed onto his windpipe. He was going to die here, and he will finally be free. The Ice Dragon roared, her claws raised, and Yon Rha closed his eyes. Searing pain scorched through him, but not where he expected. 

"Get up," the Ice Dragon hissed, stepping away from him. Wincing in pain, Yon Rha did as he was told. Pain lanced his right wing, and he contorted himself to look at it. She gave him more than a matching scar, she practically shredded that membrane nearly down to the bone. 

"I did a bad thing! I know I did and you deserve revenge, so why don't you take my mother instead?" he whimpered. Her eyes glittered with cold fury.

"Don't compare your mother with mine," the Ice Dragon spat, "And we're not the same. There's nothing in you, only patheticness, sadness, and emptiness. And I'll take this." She reached forward and pulled off the headpiece with the feather. With that, she turned and walked away. Yon Rha looked up at her companion. There was something familiar about those gold eyes and the burn scar, but he couldn't place it. The dark dragon glared at him, but didn't speak.

"Please, mercy," Yon Rha whimpered. The dark dragon said nothing, and turned and walked away, following the Ice Dragon. The rain continued to fall as Yon Rha picked up the fallen meat and walked away, wishing that either one of them killed him.

<>-<>-<>-<>

Katara's back was to him on the dock, still where he left her when he told her to stay at Ember Island while he got the others. He returned with the others, with most of the dark paint off his scales, with the exception of a few spots he just couldn't scrub off. He and Aang walked up to her.

"Katara, are you okay?" Aang asked, reaching forward. Zuko noticed Katara stiffen for a minute, but relaxed when she probably realized that Zuko was with them.

"I'm doing fine," Katara said, her back still to them. Zuko knew that Katara still was fiddling with the feather, waiting for Sokka to talk about the feather with her.

"Zuko told me what you did, or rather, what you didn't do. I'm proud of you." Zuko stiffened at Aang's statement, as did Katara. Katara's wings drooped slightly, as if she wanted to snap at Aang but had no energy to do so. Katara finally turned her head to Aang after a moment, her eyes brimming with fury.

"Proud? If you knew what was going through my head, or what I actually did, you wouldn't be. I wanted to kill him, I wanted him to feel the same pain as my mother did. I don't know why I let him go, or even if it was merciless for me to let him live. I don't know if I'm not strong enough to kill him or too weak to not do so." Katara said, her grip tightening on the headpiece. Zuko only told Aang that she let Yon Rha live, but gave no details after that. 

"You did the right thing," Aang tried to assuage, "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing." He looked up at her and tried to smile at her. Katara's frown deepened and her fur rose slightly.

"But I didn't forgive him, I'll never forgive him," Katara said quietly. Aang blinked in shock. Katara stood up and walked over to Zuko.

_Honestly I wish Aang could read minds,_ Zuko thought, spacing out momentarily before he realized that Katara was right in front of him.

"But I am ready to forgive you," Katara said, tilting her head up as she brushed her cheek along his, before pulling back and looking into his eyes.

_I'm sorry for all my anger and hurt -,_ Katara thought to him. __

_Never apologize for what you did. I was the only Fire Dragon around and you wanted to give your monster a face, and here I was._

_ __ _

_ Thank you, Zuko. _

**Author's Note:**

> R o l l e r c o a s t e r ! ! ! !


End file.
